Posted 10:12 AM by Robert

George Soros: Absolutely Obscene ... Or Just Plain Nuts?

George Soros has found his calling! "[Defeating President Bush] is the central focus of my life," Soros said ... The 2004 presidential race, he said in an interview, is "a matter of life and death." .... "When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans." It conjures up memories, he said, of Nazi slogans on the walls, Der Feind Hort mit ("The enemy is listening"). "My experiences under Nazi and Soviet rule have sensitized me" ...

Soros's contributions are filling a gap in Democratic Party finances .... Asked whether he would trade his $7 billion fortune to unseat Bush, Soros opened his mouth. Then he closed it. The proposal hung in the air: Would he become poor to beat Bush?

He said, "If someone guaranteed it."

But defeating George Bush is not the only new goal that might lead Mr. Soros to extremes. There seem to be other political demons that have possessed his mind during its current sleep of reason. Just how far would the new George Soros go to serve these creatures? How about this:

"There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that," Soros said. ... "If we change that direction, then anti-Semitism also will diminish," he said. "I can't see how one could confront it directly."

That is a point made by Israel's most vociferous critics, whom some Jewish activists charge with using anti-Zionism as a guise for anti-Semitism. ... The billionaire financier said he, too, bears some responsibility for the new anti-Semitism, citing last month's speech by Malaysia's outgoing prime minister, Mahathir Mohammad, who said, "Jews rule the world by proxy."

"I'm also very concerned about my own role because the new anti-Semitism holds that the Jews rule the world," said Soros ... "As an unintended consequence of my actions," he said, "I also contribute to that image." ....

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, called Soros' comments "absolutely obscene."

"He buys into the stereotype," Foxman said. "It's a simplistic, counterproductive, biased and bigoted perception of what's out there. It's blaming the victim for all of Israel's and the Jewish people's ills."

Furthermore, Foxman said, "If he sees that his position of being who he is may contribute to the perception of anti-Semitism, what's his solution to himself -- that he give up his money? That he close his mouth?"

Perhaps Mr. Soros doesn't have time or resources for any of those things suggested by Mr. Foxman, since they might distract him from the central focus of his life ... and from building his relationship with his new soulmate, Herr Doktorprofessor Paul Von Krugman!

Associates said Soros' appearance Nov. 5 was the first they could ever recall in which the billionaire, a Hungarian-born U.S. Jew who escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to London as a child, had spoken in front of a Jewish group or attended a Jewish function.

And his remarks show that there's a good reason for that.

The determination of what aspect of Mr. Soros' remarks is the most obscene is a bit refined. But it is worth mentioning that he seems especially drawn to ascribing significance to features that suggest the he is important ... even central. When he hears George Bush speak about the need to spread and protect democracy, Mr. Soros hears Hitler - but when he hears Mahathir Mohammad spit anti-Semitic garbage, Mr. Soros hears a cry for all of us in the West - even a big and important man such as himself - to look inward for our own flaws, for what we have done to create this terrible cry of pain from Mahathir Mohammad.

Yes, yes, Mr. Soros, we all recognize that you are such an important man, a big man, a colossus on the international stage ... a maker of kings and nations ... A VERITABLE GOD!

Now, will you just sit down, shut the heck up and stop embarrassing yourself?

UPDATE: An astute reader e-mails:

Hasn't Mr. Soros set himself up in a sort of catch-22 predicament? I mean, if he is successful at helping to "depose" President George W. Bush, wouldn't he be lending creedence to the Dr. Mahathir's idea that Jews really run the world?

Personally, I find Mr. Soros' funding of MoveOn.org to be sad and reprehensible. Buying more knitting needles for the Angry Left to blind themselves with is not helpful.

Yes, exactly. Soros loves the idea that he is powerful and important. Dr. Mahathir's idea that Jews (really, in Soros' mind, Soros) really run the world seems to very much appeal to Soros.